1. Field of the Invention
This invention is in the area of aquaponics cultivation for sustainable farming.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98
There are many indoor hydroponics system using vertical farming method but it is not possible for hydroponics to grow organic vegetables because they need chemical nutrient to grow the crops. Also these hydroponics systems cannot be used as an aquaponics due to its draining design. Also, an air pump and timer are necessary to control the water drain and/or the overflown.
It is desirable, from the aspect of energy saving, to have a system in which a significant amount of strong water flow created by Bell Siphon provides good aeration with sufficient oxygen in the drained water without the need of air pump and/or timer to control the drain. In other words, the multiple usage of Bell Siphon in the drainage system of each layer enables vertical cultivation without any power unit and/or timer to control the drain and/or the overflown.
Traditionally, aquaponics farmers use Bell Siphon in single layered grow bed and yet there are still technical problems on not enough aeration be supplied to both vegetable roots (in growing media such as hydroton or black cinder) and fishes.
The invention is primarily doing with vertical cultivation using multi-layered aquaponics system and method. Prior inventions are compared with the present invention. They are described below.
The US patent publication number US20130047508A1 discloses a modular aquaponics assembly including a frame, at least one tray adapted for retaining water and supporting at least one container for retaining a growing medium therein for support plants. In short, the said US patent provides embodiments of an aquaponic system with Bell Siphon and multi-layered tray.
The above invention provides embodiments of a aquaponic system with Bell Siphon and multi-layer tray. However, the above invention does not provide any information related to the choice of grow light, and does not mention the use of LED grow light and strong water current in contact with air created by the Bell Siphon that give suitable aeration. Also, the layered structure in the above patent is different from the multi-layered structures in the present invention.
This invention provides LED growth-lights on multi-layers of cultivation grow-beds and the deployment of at least one Bell Siphon in the vertical structure, thus creating strong water current giving suitable aeration back to the fish tank.
The US patent publication number US20140041594A1 discloses an aquarium module, a garden module, and a reservoir module. As a whole, the system is generally designed such that the wastewater from the aquarium module flows to the garden module where it irrigates the plants and where it is at least partially filtered by plants, which consume at least some of the waste products contained in the water. In short, this invention provides the embodiments of an aquaponic system with Bell Siphon and multi-layer tray. The garden module is located at a level lower than the water level of the aquarium module.
However, the above invention utilizes natural light as the light source, instead of providing LED grow light. Also, the above invention does not disclose an aquaponic system where the plant grow-bed is being located above the fish tank, and does not utilize the Bell Siphon to give suitable aeration into the fish tank. Further, the above patent does not resolve the technical problem of providing sufficient aeration in a closed-loop system.
In the present invention, the aquaponic cultivation system and method, where the multi-layered plant grow-beds are being located above the fish tank, allowing water from all layers to be drained together into the fish tank, except the water in the lowest's layer of the grow-bed that is drained separately into the fish tank.
The US patent publication number US20130160363 provides a closed-loop, vertical garden system for growing plants and filtering air and water comprising multi-layer grow media for use in vertical aquaponic gardens.
However, the above patent's food production system does not provide any application of and draining system nor Bell Siphon draining system nor multi-layered grow bed. Also, the above patent does not disclose the use of LEDs as light source. Further, the above patent does not specify any number of layers used in the multi-layer grow media. Again, the above patent does not resolve the technical problem of providing sufficient aeration in a closed-loop system.
The present invention provides LED growth-lights on multi-layers of cultivation grow-beds. Each level of grow-bed also has its own drainage standpipe that leads the overflown to the water drain pipe and eventually to the fish tank. Specifically, when the overflown from grow-beds is drained through the Bell Siphon, strong water current is created by the Bell Siphon that gives suitable aeration back to the fish tank.
The US patent publication number US20140047767 provides an aquaponics system and method. It provided an aquaponics system including a tank for aquatic animal, plant growing apparatus; and a biofilter and a biological waste digestion unit. Plant nutrients are transferred to the plant growing apparatus and at least a portion of the water is returned to the tank.
However, the above invention does not provide LED growth lights on multi-layers of cultivation growth-beds. The above invention also doesn't have its own drainage standpipe that leads the overflow of each level of growth-bed to the water drain pipe and eventually to the fish tank. Specifically, the said invention did not mention the use of Bell Siphon in its drainage system.
The present invention provides LED growth-lights on multi-layers of cultivation grow-beds. Each level of grow-bed also has its own drainage standpipe that leads the overflown to the water drain pipe and eventually to the fish tank. Specifically, when the overflown from grow-beds is drained through the Bell Siphon, strong water current is created by the Bell Siphon that gives suitable aeration back to the fish tank in which aeration system could save energy, carbon-free and friendly to the environment.
The US patent publication number US20130098303 provides a sustainable aquaponic system and method using alternative aquaculture feed. Though this patent provides a vertical aquaponic system, it derives its water from an open, natural, established pond or lake ecosystem instead of a fish tank. Bell siphon is also involved in this invention, but merely as a role in water drainage. It relies on alternative aeration methods such as the use of various plants in and near the water and domestic plants.
With regard to the present invention, water aeration is achieved by strong current created by bell siphon. However, by adjacent or side by side raceway installation, the above patent's water can fall over the long side of the raceway through pea gravel or hadite (expanded shale) to the long side of an adjacent fish raceway. This process provides oxygenation as well as abolic removal of ammonia and repeats the cycle raceway after raceway until the water empties into the largest grow bed of the system. Clearly, though the above patent application and the present invention both make use of water flow to aerate the fish tank/fish pond, the present invention achieves aeration by the simple and multiple use of at least one bell siphon in a vertical structure, the patent above achieves aeration by raceway installation, with the presence of pea gravel or hadite (expanded shale).